P.E.I. woman gets 45 days for slapping 12-year-old 'with some force'

SUMMERSIDE, P.E.I. - A woman was sentenced to 45 days in jail this week for two assaults on a 12-year-old boy who was visiting at her home.

Krista Cochrane, who initially pleaded not guilty to the charge, changed her plea on Aug. 27 before appearing in provincial court in Summerside.

In a statement submitted to the court, it was noted that the boy threw a temper tantrum and pushed one of the other children.

Cochrane grabbed the boy and struck him once in the buttock area with a plastic spoon. She then took him down the hallway, into a bedroom, and struck him in the thigh, which left a mark.

The statement also detailed an incident, which occurred the next morning, when an issue arose between the 12-year-old and another child. Intervening, Cochrane slapped the boy with an open hand, twice. One slap left a handprint and a small scratch. Refusing to go into a bedroom, Cochrane pushed him, leading him to strike his arm on a doorknob. She also slapped his arm, which caused a mark.

The boy was kept home from school the next day.

Upon returning to school, the boy’s teacher noticed the mark and asked what happened.

When the boy said Cochrane hit him, the teacher asked the principal to take the boy from the classroom. The principal notified Child Protection Services.

In handing down his sentence, Judge Jeff Lantz noted the aggravating factors in the case included Cochrane’s prior record of assault for an incident in 2012, and the age of the victim.

“You can see from the picture… the slaps were of some force,” he said.

“You cannot resort to unreasonable force or, in this case, what I would call violence,” he told Cochrane.

In addition to the jail sentence, which she will serve intermittently, Cochrane was given 24 months probation and ordered to pay a $100 victim surcharge.

She is required to write a letter of apology to the victim, as well as undergo counselling for anger management and other recommendations made by the court, her probation officer and Child Protective Services.